Street Smarts
by Sivy
Summary: Have you ever wondered how anyone could survive on the streets and not give up? This is Duo's way of 'making' things work. POST EW! If there will be pairings. Then it will be slash.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:

I do not own anything of Gundam Wing, sad… but true none-the-less. My loss.

The story is what comes out of my mind when I am half dead from boredom and have nothing better to do while doing so called 'Guard Duty'. Which means staying in the same building for 72 hours and only allowed to leave when you have to take a shower… so… I was bored. I created this story. My first real story with more then one chapter… Hopefully at least. I am a type of person who finishes a story and doesn't write for a year and then comes back to it afterwards. So we can all hope that this won't be like that this time and after the first chapter I won't just quit it and come back after 6 months. This is put up now just to see who would be interested in this story… I am not expecting hordes of reviews, but a few more then usual would be nice I might just update on Saturday if I get enough motivation! This chapter is somewhat edited now… after a few miss-uploading. It should be better now.

Summary: Have you ever wondered how anyone could survive on the streets and not give up? This is Duo's way of 'making' things work. POST EW! If there will be pairings. Then it will be slash. Duo is shown as a guy who is just trying to make things work... his way.

Spoilers from GW and probably endless waltz. If you haven't seen any of those then… what the hell are you doing reading Gundam Wing Fanfiction! If you haven't seen any of the above, then turn off your browser and go download it all… And don't you dare come back till you're an official GW Fan girl, or boy… Get it? Got it? Good.

Street Smarts

There is one thing you need to have when you live on the streets. It is street smarts. Street Smarts are an all around multi-useful skill to have in any situation. It includes whom to pickpocket from, who to stay away from, whom to beg from, where to sleep, and where to eat. The major basics on survival. And not to be too picky about what you get when, how to get it and from whom you get it. For example: Eating from trash cans after the food has been there for a few days… if it doesn't have mold yet, its still edible… even with all the bugs on them, more protein in your diet will be needed.

Another good thing to know is where to find there trash cans and which ones are the best. Another example: Trashes from restaurants are very good sometimes… they sometimes throw out full meals. When you get them right when they throw them, it's the best. Another good place would be army base trashcans… you are mostly likely asking me "What the hell are you thinking?" Yes army food is pretty bad, yes, on a good day I wouldn't even eat it when it's fresh let alone after a few days in the trash… but look at it this way, the army throws away enough food for another army to eat from. A dear friend of mine who did some infiltrating in some army bases told me that they would throw huge garbage bags of bread, hot-dogs, chicken, vegetables, salads, fruits, and other things that no one is able to identify even outside of the trash. It could at least feed about 20 other hungry kids… and then, you are in the good graces of other street kids and they would owe you a favor. There you have it, you got some allies while just trying to feed yourself.

Do not be afraid to call in those favors. They are quite valuable in the streets. It could get you out of some tight squeezes and totally save your ass. When I had first started this street thing, I hardly ever called in those favors. I mostly did good things to people because it made me feel like I am worth more then the dirt that I scrape through. But after a while, it just didn't seem worth it. It's like… giving money to a grocer and not getting any goods back for what you just paid for. It has gotten me out of plenty of messes in my time by calling in those favors let me tell you that.

Another good road to survival is to not be afraid to take jobs that no one would dare to take or no one thinks are any good. Sewer cleaning is a fine example, someone needs to do it, especially in the colonies. It is obviously extremely dirty, but you can never know what you could find down there. I once found a gold Rolex Watch down there… of course it was a fake take off of one so it wasn't worth that much… but there is always a possibility that you will get luckier then me. I, after all don't have much luck.

Another fine example of a good job would be janitor work. Best places to work with that job would be train stations, bus stations, and airports. There is always a high possibility someone dropping/forgetting a purse somewhere, cash, coins, cards, ID's and well… if accidentally someone found something missing from their pockets when they got to close to you or when they asked you something… not your fault they didn't realize it at the time.

Fake ID's, one of the many objects that will help you in any situation, if you need to get into a place and your too young to get into, like a bar, just flash the ID and get in. Most guards at bars don't really check them all that closely. Bars are a great place to pick-pocket, more then half of the people are to drunk to notice your not a waiter and end up tipping you or if they are missing anything in their pockets… Of course that doesn't work if you are younger then 15. Usually you don't start looking like your 18 till you are about that age… no one is stupid enough to think a 12-year-old is 18. Unless they are too bloody drunk to even care to look at you. Fake ID's are also useful if you don't even have an ID.

Another great item to have on you that you wouldn't normally think of if you're not on the street, is a pocketknife. It has a lot of different uses (the best items are the items that be used in more then one way). With it you are able to open cans, bottles use it as a nail picker, tooth pick, tweezers, scissors, and of course a very useful way of using it is as a dagger. That is if you don't have any other better knives on you. I myself have two boot knives and a dagger attached to my wrist, all made out of Gundanium… on a good day… but not everyone is as lucky as I am.

Now, you might be asking yourself, how does an ex-Gundam pilot, and war hero, know all about living on the streets?

I am not as lucky as my friends are…. Well… maybe not friends but allies of sorts.

One of them always had a place to go back to when needed, and a family the size of a small army... or maybe not so small of an army. He is president of one of the biggest organizations in the Earth Sphere Alliance. And he gets it all in his pocket to do whatever the hell he wants with it. He could even sell it if he doesn't want to do anything with it, and still live off of the money from that for the rest of his comfortable life. He is a great guy though, I wouldn't trade him in for anyone.

Another ally of mine had found his long lost sister and is now working in the circus. Huge turn around from being a mercenary and killer to making kids laugh. He shouldn't have any worries there. Well, not necessarily any worries. He just has to worry about not falling off of the tight rope while performing for an audience… he probably wants to keep his low profile by not showing off that he can fall from 100 ft and not get injured.

Then we have our Chinese Dragon, the only living person from L5, and the inheritor of everything that is left. All bank notes, items salvaged, and any other homes or such that the people of L5 had left on earth… are now his. Yea, he is one rich-son-of-a-bitch. And he still insists on working for the Preventers. After everything we did, why would anyone want to work for the government?

Now our Japanese computer genius has the greatest future left yet. Work for someone bloody royally rich. Our dear ex-princess of peace has need for a body guard, and the best person for it of course would the exact same person that has been trying to kill her for a year, someone who already knows all of her weaknesses and blind spots. And who is even 'interested' in her and vice-versa. It works, he gets laid and gets money for doing something he has been doing all his life.

Then you have me, a retired thief, whore, beggar, pocket-picker, street kid gang leader, and all around pest to people who don't like me. (Okay I admit it I never retired of being an all around pest to people in general… ever.)

Well, now I would have to take that back again. I am now an ex-retired thief, whore, beggar, pocket-picker, street kid (even if I am not a kid anymore and haven't been for a while now), gang leader. But now I have more refined tastes and more skills to back it up.

It seems there aren't many choices for jobs for an ex-retired killer and all around pest with a braid can have. So I had to go back to my own roots. Roots that aren't as great as the others are and a bit stinky at times. But they are mine and I wouldn't trade then for anything, they made me who I am.

My name is Duo Maxwell; self proclaimed Shinigami, I am a 20 or 21 year old killer/thief and all around bad guy to those who piss me off…

And the unlucky.


	2. Chapter 2

Here is the next part to the story. I am going to hopefully update every week. I think I can handle that. Anyways, I am still hoping for reviews… but hey, whatever floats your boat. I don't think there are many people reading GW anymore. Anyone for any ideas on pairings? But it wouldn't happen any time soon mind you… I haven't even gotten to a main part in the story yet.

Street Smarts Chapter 1: Bumping into old friends

This here is where it all began for him. Where Shinigami took his first breath and Duo Maxwell became his official name. Here lays the Maxwell Church Ruins. The pieces of rubble and broken stained glass give off an ominous glare from the falling sun. It isn't dark yet but will be soon. It feels like a finally closing to everything that had happened here. He no longer feels any sadness for those who lost their lives that day. He knows it was in no way his fault that it happened. It couldn't have been. Besides that, if he were to feel guilty about everyone who has died around him, he would need his own special room in a mental hospital. With very padded walls.

Nope, he doesn't feel any sadness for them. Just a deep ingrained pity. Not for the people who have died, no, the dead have no use for that. But pity for those who don't understand the loss of life that happened here, especially the loss of life in children. The children could have become famous later in their lives. Or could have had children that could have been famous, whether a famous Doctor or Artist. No matter what, the universe could be missing some very special people and no one would know. No one could know, if they did, they might have not been so many deaths in this universe.

Pity is that's all he can feel for those people. They don't deserve anything more then that. In the back of his mind he also wonders why the ruins are still here… maybe someone thought that it would be a good reminder to people about the preciousness of life.

Or maybe they just don't want to spend money to clean it up.

What pathetic lives everyone here has.

He turns his back towards the ruins and his braid whips around him with the artificial wind form the colony. It looks like it is giving the last salute to those who have lost their lives for nothing. He pulls his coat closer to him while the biting old tears into his skin. It was slowly getting darker and he didn't feel like being stuck in the bad part of L2 at night. He puts his hands inside of his pockets briefly regretting the fact that he forgot his gloves in his temporary apartment. Nothing he can do about it now. Just that he is going to have to deal with the cold for a while now. He sighs in loss. Not just for the gloves but for everything really.

There doesn't really seem like there is much for him to do. He helps win two wars and create temporary peace for as long as it can last… then what? Really what much else is there left? Yea, there was that salvage yard for him with Hilde for a while, but what type of life is that for a thief and killer? Talk about a waste of skills. No one would hire a butcher to cut a salad for someone.

So here he is… again. Back to the streets, except with a lot more money in his pocket. All that cash that he got from the old doctors and the pretty pretty princess for helping save the world form the evil maniacs in his many bank accounts that he had saved up for backup if he would be stuck on the streets again. That did happen so he is pretty set up for a while. But he couldn't figure it out… What the hell to do with all this money? He has all the basics that he needs to survive well. He has enough money to have shelter, enough for 3 meals a day, and some comfort. These used to be his main worries when he was on the streets before, and now, he has no worries for that at all. He is just really bored. There doesn't seem much use for money besides all that. What's the big deal with it? Why does everyone seem so keen on getting more money? Do they even know what to do with it once they have it? He then wonders what Wufei's plan is for his own new-found-riches.

Duo refuses to just give away money, yea, there may be people who need it more, but if they are living on the streets they need to learn how to survive on their own, and not just to live off of people giving away their money. Not everyone is going to do that all the time. It won't teach them anything and they would just spend all the money in a few hours anyways.

He carefully walks back to his apartment taking short cuts through different ally ways, all the while keeping his senses alert to any problems that might appear. After a while he starts to feel a prickly sensation at the back of his neck that alerts him to someone following him unnoticeably. It's a feeling that has kept him alive on any number of occasions… and now, to figure out the best way to deal with it.

He continues to walk normally without showing that he knows about someone following him without even a pause in his steps.

He can 1: Keep walking and be ready for any type of attack that's coming and react accordingly when the stalker pops up. He feels for his gun to make sure it's easy to grab and pull out.

He can 2: Lose his watcher by taking some other back alleys and work it fast so that the watchers wouldn't even have time to catch up with him. He was after all a Gundam Pilot. You need to be able to run fast in order to survive, although that was always a skill he had even before becoming a Gundam pilot.

3: Find out where the watcher is located and jump them instead, then interrogate them about why they are following him. He carefully looks below his bangs to see if he can spot a shadow around the walls and roof of the buildings around him from the falling of the sun.

Or 4: Just ask why he/she is following him around the back alleys of L2 and what their death wish is. It would make everything so simple and less problematic.

Or maybe a mixture of them.

Alright, he has his solution, now he just has to confront his stalker about it.

He quickly takes the next turn into another alley way and stops at the corner, his braid coming to the front of him so if he was ambushed it wouldn't be used as a leach. He waits to see the shadow of his stalker and sees it slowly coming out from the side of the trash dumpster. He pulls out his gun quickly and aims it toward his ex-follower.

"I know your there and that you have been watching for a while now, if you wish to keep your pathetic life, you will come out now and put your hands where I can see them so I don't have to feel trigger happy." He noticeably turns the safety off of his gun.

"Wow, who would have figured you would be back here out of all places. I even remember you, who could have possibly forgotten such a braid. I'm surprised that you haven't grown out of it yet." His ex-attacker replies while slowly coming from behind the trash dumpster and casually crosses his arms around his chest to show that he is not going to pull out a weapon on him. He has short manageable brown hair that is suitable for the colony's screwed up weather system and that doesn't need a lot of time to fashion in order to be presentable. He has a normal body type, not to fat but not to skinny either. His eyes are an inconspicuous brown color. He looks like every other person Duo has bumped into... almost. What he does have is a dark deepness in his eyes that only another street person would be able to notice. It is something that says that he has been here on the streets for a while and has yet to find another way of living. But he still isn't someone anyone would recognize if you were walking down the street.

"Who are you?" Duo replies defensively. He automatically distrusts anyone who would talk about his hair like that. The largest reason is because if this guy knew him, he would know that he would be tempted to shoot anyone who would talk about something that is so close to him.

"Why don't you put the gun back and we can catch up on old times. I never thought you would the type of person who would shoot a person who hasn't attacked first," he states back to the man as he see as a braided idiot.

"Normally yes, but you have been following me since I stepped in the alleys after the old church. Forgive me if I seem a little paranoid. Now, tell me who you are and where you have seen me before so I can know if I have to shoot you or not." He aims his gun more exact to the man in front of him so he can know he is ready to shoot him if necessary.

"I am insulted, I always thought I had a memorable face, even though you haven't seen me for at least close to a decade, I sure as hell remember you." He acts insulted and places his hands at his waist acting like Duo should have known better.

"I guess I just have a more memorable face then you do. And put your hands back. I really don't feel like killing anyone today." Duo replies seriously. "I have had a very bloody long day and if you keep at it like this I will end up killing you with no regrets."

This time his stalker actually is insulted and he re-crosses his arms around his chest.

"Fine I will give you a hint, even though you don't deserve one for being rude to my magnificent self."

Duo just rolled his eyes at this guys modesty.

"I called you ugly and told you that you stink…"

Duo raises an eyebrow at him.

"Come on!" he replies desperately, "you tried to beat the shit out of me because of that. You can't possibly tell me you don't remember me after that."

Duo starts laughing as he pits the safety back on his gun and puts it away because he can see that he is a non-threat. Stress seems to be released from him as he gets into a more casual stance. He is definitely a non-ex-Ozzy.

"Oh man," he continues to laugh, "From my memory I did beat the shit out of you, at least I beat you up as much as a 12 year old could. You only got a few punches in. You're Zack, right?" Duo asks thinking he is pretty close.

"Its Jack you dumbass." His ex-nemesis replies with a pouts and puts his head up in the air acting like he is superior then everyone else, "from my memory I actually broke your nose."

"It was a little swollen but no where near broken. I think that is wishful thinking on your part."

"Well, why don't you invite me to your current shack, if you have one, and you can give me a warm cup of coffee and we can catch up on old times, and how much we used to love to beat each other up."

"Why don't we got to a coffee house to do all that and then you can tell me the real reason why you're following me. No offense but I still don't trust you. For all I know you may be wanting to get revenge for all that we did to each other. Mind you, I wouldn't mind a little revenge myself for that comment on me stinking."

"Alright, alright, you win you paranoid bastard. But your paying, I am sure that if you can afford a custom made gun, you can give me a cup of Mocha… just for the record though, I was only following you because I wanted to be sure you were who I thought you were, I didn't want to make a fool of myself asking you if you were someone I thought you were."

"That didn't make any sense, and you have yet to say who you think I am." Duo stated the obvious.

"I am that stupid eh? You're that person everyone called The Maxwell Demon… I think you used to call yourself Duo if I am not mistaken."

"You are not mistaken. I am still Duo and people now call me Shinigami."

"Shinigami, eh? That's sounds like a type of demon."

"Well, I guess you can say the God of Death is a demon, but that is kind of an insult that I might end up shooting you for if you say that again," the self proclaimed Shinigami threatens.

"Shit, damn, you are really trigger happy there. I am surprised that there isn't a reward out for you head now."

"Well, there was but that is neither here nor now," Duo explains to Jack, "Why don't we talk and walk at the same time, and if that's to difficult for you to do you can just walk, because its almost dark and I would really hate to have to deal with any type of gang in the middle of an alley way who would think we would be an easy target because we look like 2 innocent looking bystanders. So, shall we?"

"You are a real demon with words." Jack states.

"Yes, many people have said that… now… let's go." Duo starts to feel pretty antsy about this situation now.

"Okay okay, hold your horses oh god of paranoia. I know the perfect place just around a few corners here. Its open 24/7."

"Yes well, paranoia is actually what has kept me alive all these years. Now lead the way oh King of Annoyances."

"I wonder if there is a God of Annoyances and if you would be called on if there is."

"Start walking before I actually do decide to you anyways."

"Yes sir!"


End file.
